Poignant Understanding
by Somewei
Summary: It was at that moment that Ron realized that he would never be as important to Hermione as Harry was. Spoilers for DH/DHp2.


**Everything **_**Harry Potter**_** related belongs to J.K. Rowling, not me.**

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><p>"I'll go with you."<p>

Hogwarts was quiet as the halls echoed the haunting silence of classmates, friends, Aurors, and Order members that had fallen. The air was thick with death and mourning and only the smells of tears could reach their senses. Everywhere rubble was strewn about and the once glorious structure of Hogwarts was reduced to nothing but ruins, with little to no inclination that it had once been the pedestal for learning and broadening one's horizons. Instead it became a fortress – a fortress of hope and of despair.

But all of that was broken the moment those words left Hermione's mouth.

Three friends, a trio that had been the epitome of hope for those who dwelled in the Light, stared at each other. Both boys, Harry and Ron, were staring at Hermione as if they were finally seeing her for the first time. Hermione, however, had eyes only for Harry, watching him intently, desperately, determinedly through her blurry, tear-clouded vision. While she was staring at him, she forgotten the blood on her hands, cheeks and hair, forgotten the dirt marring her typically clean skin, and ignored how her hair was little bit more wild than normal.

Harry, for his part, was watching Hermione, the girl – no, _woman_ – who had stayed by his side throughout the seven years of their friendship without once faltering, torn. His emerald eyes shone brightly, showing the world his tears without shame, as he struggled to verbally say what he was communicating to her with his eyes.

And it was at that moment that Ron realized that he would never be as important to Hermione as Harry was.

It broke Ron's heart, to be honest. He wanted to break up the silent conversation they were having, that damned habit they've always had and left him feeling out of the loop, and yell at the top of his lungs that _Hermione_ kissed _him_, not _Harry_. That, for once, Hermione had chosen him above his best friend. He wanted to shake Hermione and remind her of her short time being devoted to him, Ron, while he wanted to scream at Harry at the same time that he was a fool for leaving so readily to die at Voldemort's hands.

"_I get it. You choose him_."

Ron was having that suffocating feeling all over again, that feeling he had that night in the tent when he forced Hermione to choose between him and Harry. While it might've been the locket that forced him to utter those six words of condemnation, that thread of insecurity and doubt had always been lingering in the back of Ron's mind since Fourth Year – and maybe even before it. Unlike that night, however, Hermione wasn't looking at him with tear-stained cheeks and begging him to not leave as if her life depended on it. This time she was looking at Harry, her cheeks just as tear-stained, as if her _everything_ depended on it.

Hermione had, Ron thought, once again chosen Harry.

She was condemning herself to die. Harry knew he was on his way to die and Hermione had just volunteered to go with him, completely disregarding Ron and not even asking what he thought about her decision. She was offering her life up to Harry.

Ron wanted to cry at the situation. She couldn't even live for _him_ because she wanted to die _with Harry_. Suddenly that kiss in the Chamber of Secrets seemed lifeless and unimportant. Here were his two best friends, staring at each other, and they were having such a deep moment that Ron could never be a part of. They weren't kissing each other, but it didn't seem to matter because, he knew, Harry and Hermione didn't need the physical connection of lips to show each other how much they loved each other.

It was all in the small moments, Ron realized, as he watched Hermione throw herself into Harry's arms. It was in the moment that Hermione reassured Harry he would be a great quidditch player in their First Year. It was in the moment that Harry and Hermione had seen each other in the Great Hall after she was petrified at the end of Second Year. It was in the moment when Hermione didn't flinch or react when Harry secretly grabbed her wand in the Shrieking Shack in Third Year. It was there when she trained with him in the Fourth Year. It was there when Harry grabbed her hand in the Department of Mysteries to get her to safety in Fifth Year. It was there when he, Ron, was being an ass with Lavender and Harry comforted Hermione in Sixth Year.

And it was there in the moments that Ron wasn't present for. He knew in each year there were moments where Ron was unconscious or missing that Harry and Hermione shared moments that he would never be a part of, moments that capitalized who they were to each other and what they felt for each other.

So, yes, Ron might have the hugs and the kisses from Hermione at the end, but he would never have the same devotion and loyalty from her that Harry did - _does_.

And at the moment as he once again stood off to the side, a visitor to their world, and he watched Harry tightly hug Hermione and told her no, she couldn't go with him, that Ron, though heartbroken, understood his best friends for the first time. He said nothing as Hermione cried in the arms of both his best friend and rival for her affection. All he could do was nod slightly at Harry when he set his gaze on Ron and a look of understanding passed between them.

There was something poignant going on and Ron didn't dare break it up in a fit of jealousy for the first time. Instead, as Hermione backed away from Harry, not once reaching out to Ron for comfort as the Boy-Who-Lived and their Just Harry walked away for seemingly the final time, all Ron could do was understand the level of love Harry James Potter and Hermione Jean Granger shared between one another.

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><p><strong>I had gone to the midnight showing for <strong>_**Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows**_**, and I was blown away but the sheer epic-ness of the movie. However, while all the RHr fans screamed like fangirls over the RHr kiss in the Chamber, I was blown away by the depth of Hermione telling Harry she'd go with him to his death.**

**I found it funny that none of the RHr fans in the theater seemed to get that she was offering to kill herself with Harry. They kept saying "aw, how sweet of Hermione" as if she wasn't doing anything dangerous. But I recognized that she was practically offering to die with Harry because everyone knows that Voldemort wouldn't have kept her alive.**

**Anyway, after getting online to the HP FFN archives, I noticed that other Harmony fans latched on to what I noticed a couple of nights ago – her offer of sacrifice. Instead of doing the Harmony perspective, though, I did Ron's.**

**I don't particularly care for book!Ron because he comes off as quite immature at times, but movie!Ron seems to be a bit more likeable. This short, little piece is half based off the books and half based off the movies and bit of me figuring out of what Ron was feeling in that moment. I hope you enjoyed this little journey into Ron's mind.**


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